The Almanac

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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2002 with 314 to follow.

The moon is in its first quarter.

The morning star is Mercury.

The evening stars are Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include American Revolutionary War hero William Prescott in 1726; photographer Ansel Adams in 1902; Soviet leader Alexei Kosygin in 1904; "What's My Line" TV emcee John Daly in 1914; fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt in 1924 (age 78); film director Robert Altman in 1925 (age 77); former race car driver Bobby Unser in 1934 (age 68); singers Nancy Wilson in 1937 (age 65) and Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1941 (age 61); actors Sidney Poitier in 1927 (age 75), Sandy Duncan in 1946 (age 56), Peter Strauss in 1947 (age 55) and Jennifer O'Neill in 1948 (age 54); heiress Patty Hearst Shaw in 1954 (age 48); former basketball player Charles Barkley in 1963 (age 39); actor French Stewart ("3rd Rock from the Sun") in 1964 (age 38); and model Cindy Crawford in 1966 (age 36).

On this date in history:

In 1809, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the power of the federal government was no greater than that of any individual state of the Union.

In 1938, Anthony Eden resigned as Britain's foreign secretary to protest the "appeasement" policy of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain toward Nazi Germany.

In 1962, U.S. astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. He landed safely after three orbits in a Mercury spacecraft.

In 1991, U.S. troops penetrated Iraq, capturing as many as 500 Iraq soldiers.

Also in 1991, the United States approved a $400 million loan guarantee to Israel for housing Soviet Jewish immigrants, but banned use of the money in the occupied territories.

In 1992, Israeli armored ground forces withdrew from Lebanese villages following a one-day strike. Israel defended the incursion as necessary, but the U.N. secretary general protested the assault.

Also in 1992, an FDA panel urged limiting access to silicone gel-filled breast implants.

And in 1992, alleged Salvadoran death squad leader Roberto d'Aubuisson died.

In 1996, Pat Buchanan won the New Hampshire Republican primary, with Bob Dole a close second.

Also in 1996, a federal court said it would move the Oklahoma City bombing trial to Denver.

And in 1996, former Maryland congressman Kweisi Mfume became head of the NAACP.

In 1998, Tara Lipinski, 15, of the United States became the youngest person ever to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating.

A thought for the day: "Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart." Pablo Casals said that.